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allison_laraby

Orchid Help :-(

11 years ago

I just bought my first ever orchided ever, two days ago.

Yesterday, I noticed one of her flowers started closing up. I wasn't sure if that meant she was thirsty, but her potting material seemed very dry so I gave her 3 ice cubes. (I've since realized that was stupid and will be watering her in the sink and letting her dry out from now on.

This morning, I noticed she hasn't perked up at all. :-(

I pulled her container out of the decorative pot and her and her medium came out too! Most of it was still very dry and the rest slightly damp. I pulled it all out and repotting her back in her pot, but her roots at the base were yellowish, is that normal?

I'm not sure if I have a problem or if any of this is normal, since it's my first orchid and but I want her to be happy.

I was thinking about going to the store today to get her some fresh orchid potting mix.

Any and all advice and thoughts are grealty appreciated.

her roots, flowers last night, and then this morning. :-(


Comments (3)

  • 11 years ago

    Allison, There are lots of folks here that are ready, willing, and able to assist you with questions about orchids/culture. We speak in terms that are sometimes specific to orchids and their culture, so you need to be able to understand what we are saying. I suggest you go on line and do some basic research into orchids and their culture....There is a huge amount of information on the web, but I might suggest you start with the American Orchid Society's web site. They have culture sheets you can print out for the basic culture of many types of orchids By the way, your plant is a hybrid Phalaenopsis, or for culture purposes just a Phalaenopsis.

    You don't have to rush through this process, because orchids are very slow growers, and your plant is not going to respond to any kind of normal treatment overnight. From your photos, your plant is in good condition. The roots look good, and from what little we can see of the plant, it looks good also. From your photos, you are probably going to loose the bud on the end of the spike in the last photo. Its stem appears yellow, and probably is not going to make it. This is not caused by anything you did in the last two days.....It would have been caused by the treatment the plant received before you purchased it.

    Repot your plant, water it thoroughly, put it in a bright window (no direct sunlight), do some reading, and then come back and ask questions if there is something you don't understand.

    Oh, leave the inner pot out of the decorative container. The roots of the plant need air circulation, and the ability to drain off any excess water...the decorative container probably has no drainage holes, and will prevent either of these things from happening. It is simply a decorative container to be used to display the plant for short periods of time.

    Bill

  • 11 years ago

    Thank you so so so much Bill!

    I've done a bit of reading on how to care for her, but I have so much to learn! I don't know anyone who has successfully kept an orchid and no one to turn to except Google :-P I was hoping she would be fine, but needed some reassurance with what to do for now. I will definitely get some new potting mix today and get her re-situated in her pot and get her out of the decorative one :-) and then more research! ^.^

    Thank you again!

  • 11 years ago

    Your orchid looks fine, one bloom looks like it is just opening up, and Bill is right, you will probably lose one of the buds from bud blast which can be caused by the stress of being moved to a new home. The roots look fine, when they are a pale green it means they need more water, and when they are green, they don't need water. I mist my phalanopsis orchids every day and they love it. I haven't tried using ice cubes yet. There is tons of information on the internet and tons of videos on YouTube, that will help you do research and learn more about taking care of your orchid.

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